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TEACHING TO THE TEST.
Term Paper ID:30078
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Discusses the problem of the emphasis on testing in the school system.... More...
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Paper Abstract:
Discusses the problem of the emphasis on testing in the school system. Contends students are not being educated, just prepared for standardized tests. Rote learning vs. a full learning experience. Describes various tests and actions of school districts. Calls for educational reform. Teacher effectiveness. Connection of standards to federal funding. Contends students need to learn a better approach to test taking.
Paper Introduction:
Much of the current crisis in education in the United States is the result of policies enacted to improve schools - standards and accountability (Kohn, 1999). The problem is that the emphasis on testing is squeezing education out of the curriculum. Students are basically being prepared for tests, not educated. The high concentration of effort directed towards improving tests scores means less time devoted to helping students develop creative and critical thinking. American schools are devoted more to memorizing and practicing rules and skills than to helping students understand what they are doing. Creating a learning experience that arouses and sustains children's curiosity, enriching their capacities and responding to their questions in ways that are deeply engaging should be the goal, says Kohn. He believes that this type of education would
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Sci. Raising the grade. These subject-mattertests will eventually phase out the Georgia High School Graduation Test.The governor wants to establish an Office of School Accountability to setpass-fail scores, then set up the formulas for rewards and consequences.Schools will be judged on the performance of racial and economic subgroups,and special education students, so unequal education cannot be hiddenbehind averages. This is "empty"education. School reform pays off. Because of this, paper-and-penciltests may underestimate the capabilities of technology-smart students.Tests have shown that, for the average student accustomed to working on acomputer, testing by computer could easily raise test scores from "needsimprovement" to "proficient" on the new Massachusetts state test. A group of Atlanta publicschool teachers spent part of their summer break learning how to teachstudents to better communicate their thoughts with pen and paper. New testing requirement already gettingpoor marks. It does notreplace individual state tests, but is done along with them to look atnational outcomes. B 3. Trejos, N. jr. The Stanford 9 tests report card. To help boost students' reading skills,the school system is moving away from a whole language program, whichexposes them to good books, in favor of a system that emphasizes phonics.The district is using the state's phonics-based Reading First program.Teachers and principals have been trained to assess a student's readingability, were provided with instructional videos, and all county principalshad to attend a Reading First training session sponsored by the GeorgiaDepartment of Education's Curriculum and Reading Division. Atlanta Const. The combination of good teachers, good teaching programs, earlytraining in the basics of reading, writing and math, building vocabulary,and constant reminders to children of how to approach answering questions(use of acronyms), whether on a test or not, is needed to improve testscores. On a related topic, Carter (1998) reported that, though much emphasisis being placed on reading and math skills, much less is placed on writingability. It is obvious that educational standards in the United States need tobe improved, and the only way to judge this is by testing of students. Dionne, E. By 1998, they had rebounded, but only to 1992 levels. It was feared that such problemswould pull down overall scores. SME3. References Be Bold with reforms. 1. S. Littleattention is placed on writing. (2 , April). The multi-focus approach appears to be working at the John HansonSchool in Maryland. Cumming, D. Whatcalculators have done to a student's ability to do math, computers havedone to a student's ability to write. the traditionalprocedures for addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. Theschool runs a large after-school program and a Saturday tutoring program.The school also has a 9-period day instead of the traditional seven, whichgives students more opportunities to take enrichment classes. LosAngeles Times, p. Linking pay, scores always fails.USA Today, p. Critics ofthe program worry that so much testing will be detrimental to educationsince teachers will be driven to prepare students for tests rather thanconcentrating on educating them. The humble pencil may be the reason some test scoresare dipping. JA5. Attendancerates have increased at the school and the suspension rate has dropped.Teachers have been rewarded by the business community for their efforts.In this school, at least, a multi-factor approach has proved to be aneffective way to increase test scores. The problem is that the emphasis on testingis squeezing education out of the curriculum. An editorial in The Atlanta Journal (Be bold with reforms, 1999)expressed some of the hopes for the new education reform plan. In Maryland, students in third, fifth, and 8th grades now take theMaryland School Performance Assessment Program (MSPAP), a battery of testsgiven each spring in public schools throughout the state (Trejos, 2 ).Proponents of the tests say it encourages critical thinking, whereascritics say the grading is too subjective, the questions too open-ended andthe emphasis on result too excessive. Klein, D. No one factor alone can dothis. (1999, September). 11. The acronyms students are constantly bombarded with at John Hanson -FEAT, using "for example" and "according to" in written answers; CUCC -circle, underline, count and check to aid them in following writtendirections; and ACE - answer the question, cite evidence from the text, andexplain the answer - also encourage students to look at things morecritically, analyze questions, and think them out more thoroughly beforeanswering them. Low-tech tests shortchangehigh-tech students. Congress authorized the National Assessment of Educational Progress(NAEP) to test children in grades four, 8 and 12 in math and reading, andperiodically in history, science and writing (Kronholz, 1998). Students are also constantly encouraged to write. If a school is not performing well, the state will require animprovement plan, send in a state team, and let students transfer to betterschools. If a class is not performing up tostandard, the teacher responsible needs to be held accountable. Washington Post, p. For the first few years, aschool's ranking will be based solely on the results of the Stanford 9 andon blocks of additional test items aimed at assessing students' knowledgeof the state's rigorous new content standards for reading, math, and later,science and history. It has been proved in several states that test scoresimprove when good teachers are hired. 1. Writing skills also need to beemphasized so that students are prepared to answer questions on tests whichrequire written answers. Atlanta Const., p. To remain eligible for federal funds designed to aid low-incomeschools, all states must develop statewide standards, multiple assessmentmethods and an accountability program. A15. Forhigh school, it recommends integrated math curricula such as IntegratedMathematics Program, which suppresses basic algebra at all grade levels,and delays 8th grade quadratic formulae until 12th grade. Students with competentteachers do not find learning a chore, but enjoy it. As technology expands into everyone's life, it is pushing its way intoschools, and into student's lives. Since such answers are scored subjectively,students must be able to express themselves clearly and understandably toachieve high test scores. Good teachers hold themselvesaccountable and feel responsible for teaching their students what they needto know, not just the answers to test questions. 7. ATennessee study found that the least effective teachers produced gains ofabout 14 percentile points during the school year, whereas the mosteffective teachers produced gains of 53 percentile points. AtlantaConst., p. Los Angeles Times, p. Students are basically beingprepared for tests, not educated. Although readingis being stressed throughout the United States, mainly by institutingphonics-based programs, little attention is being paid to writing, and thisis where vocabulary is built. NAEP was intended to sample national results, butlooking at its results as a whole obscures significant differences amongthe different states (Chaddock, 2 ). NAEP was created in 1969 and is given to only asampling of children, and is administered by the Department of Education,but is managed and written by an independent board. All three grades showed significant improvement from 1994, and thepercentage of children reading at proficient or advanced levels was up inall three grades. Washington Post, p. A look at improvingschools across the state of Georgia. Others believethat without basic skills, concepts will not be understood. Creating a learning experiencethat arouses and sustains children's curiosity, enriching their capacitiesand responding to their questions in ways that are deeply engaging shouldbe the goal, says Kohn. The number ofalternative education seats has been quadrupled to give students moreoptions and teachers more disciplinary leverage. A Texas study found that teacher quality measured by education,experience and test scores on initial teacher licensing exams explained 43percent of the variance in student performance. (2 , September). H8. Dionne (1998) finds that children with smart, well-trained andeffective teachers do much better than children with less-qualifiedteachers. Atlanta Const., p. Gallagher, B. Atlanta J. The high concentration of effortdirected towards improving tests scores means less time devoted to helpingstudents develop creative and critical thinking. Acronyms are taught to help studentsmemorize strategies for taking tests such as, FEAT - they should supportanswers with "for example" and "according to"; CUCC for following writtendirections - circle, underline, count and check; and ACE - answer thequestion, cite evidence from the text to support the answer, and extend orexplain the answer. Students should be able to reason outanswers on tests and not simply regurgitate memorized facts. This would seemto be a method of more meaningful education, since students are taught moreto think than just remember facts, and to work cooperatively on factors. Each teacher must have aspecific plan describing what courses they will take to improve theirteaching and management skills, and administrators will study ITBS scoresto determine why some teachers and principals produce students whoconsistently earn poor scores. XJD5. (1998, August). Science andsocial studies will be added above third grade (Cumming, 2 ). (2 , January). Carter, R. School test scores may look bad because they have a lotof poor students, but if they can show improvements, teachers will receivebonuses. However, TheLos Angeles Systemic Initiative (LASI), a multiyear, federally fundeddistrict program with the goal of improving mathematics and scienceeducation appears to be doing more harm than good (Milgram, 1999). Wall St J., p. This puts LosAngeles students at a disadvantage with other California students in statetests. The new math standards played down the use ofcalculators for young students and stressed mastering computational skillsthat underlie math concepts. Carter, R. Efforts at pushingliteracy are continuing in every classroom and subject area. New evidenceof major improvement in several states suggests changes are working.Christ. L. Because it is the onlynational test, it is closely watched by educators and policy makers inWashington. (1999, June). F4. (2 , March).Atlanta J., p. Much of the current crisis in education in the United States is theresult of policies enacted to improve schools - standards andaccountability (Kohn, 1999). American schools aredevoted more to memorizing and practicing rules and skills than to helpingstudents understand what they are doing. J. (2 , July). D8. He believes that this type of education wouldbenefit students because they would be able to reason answers to testquestions rather than just answer them by rote learning. The DeKalb school district has placed tremendous effort on improvingITBS scores, and has pushed to emphasize phonics-based reading programs tofurther this end (Loupe, 1999). states - and according to Gallagher (2 ) theydo not work. Vocabulary is also emphasized at John Hanson School. John Hanson Middle School: efforts toimprove rewarded; test-driven curriculum gets positive results series.Washington Post, p. A comprehensive effort has been undertaken inskill-building for low-performing students in history. It's teachers' manual tells them not to explainstandard algorithms of arithmetic to children - i.e. (1999, July). The newtests are designed to show what the students have learned through the year,while the ITBS determines how they compare with their peers. Boston public schools are undergoing significant improvement and haveraised their Stanford 9 scores each year. One factor which cannot be overlooked for raising tests scores isemploying competent teachers. While returning to teaching basicskills in math is necessary in early grades, more creative approaches arenecessary to maintain students' interest in higher grades and to encouragemore creative and critical thinking. Millions of dollars have been put into new textbooks andteacher training programs, all aimed at improving test scores, since whatis being emphasized closely reflects what is asked on the test. A study of the Bostonpublic schools found that the top one-third of the teachers are producingsix times the learning compared with the bottom third of teachers. (2 , March). A2 . If teachers are competent, they can teach students what isrequired in the curriculum, and improve their test scores at the same time. Atlanta Const., p. Using these and other such acronymswould help students to think before answering and not just guess atanswers. They would obviously be very beneficial whenever written answersare called for. Kohn, A. P. Untilall tests can be given under the same conditions, this fact must be takeninto consideration when conducting regular paper-and-pencil tests withstudents used to using computers, or test scores will be skewed. The number of students using computersin school has so dramatically increased that a national survey recentlyindicated that 5 percent of K-12 teachers have students use wordprocessors, and 29 percent have students use the Internet (Haney andRussell, 1999). Atlanta J. A systemwideinitiative to improve mathematics is operational, and families andcommunities are being encouraged to support teaching and learning. The new education policy in California is to demand moreaccountability based on testing coupled with an emphasis on basic skillssuch as phonics instruction in the lower grades. Payzant, . (1999, October). Later still, graduation and attendance rates will befactored in. California's schools began to reemphasize basic skills instruction inreading and math about five years ago, and the pace intensified after newstandards were adopted in 1997 for what children should know at each gradelevel (Helfand, 2 ). W. Helfand, D, (2 , July). Fortest scores to improve, better ways have to be found to teach children andto motivate them to want to learn. At the center of theaccountability system is an academic performance index which will use testscores to rank California's schools: performance will dictate which schoolsmerit rewards and which deserve sanctions. (2 , March). (1998, June). Atlanta J. Summarizing the efforts to improve Atlanta's schools, and thus theITBS scores, the reforms call for: a) accountability - yearly testinggrades one through 8 in English and language arts, mathematics and reading,and adding science and social studies in grade three, and end-of-coursetesting in high schools; grading schools on performance compared to statestandards, grades A through F; giving monetary rewards to schools earningAs and Bs, and state intervention for those with Ds and Fs; b) class size -reducing class sizes in all grades, with a class size cap of 14 for at-riskstudents; c) middle schools - dropping of the physical educationrequirement; budge cuts; exploratory classes such as band or art to oneperiod; teacher planning time to be kept at 85 minutes; d) teacher quality- tests for basic competency in computers; salary incentives in areas thatneed mathematics, science and foreign language teachers; 1 percent raisefor national certification; e) governance - a council composed of aprincipal, two teachers, two parents, and two business people to set schoolpolicy; f) funding - poorer systems given more state money; some statebudget supplements for schools phased out; and schools losing money wouldhave to make up costs (2 Georgia Legislature, 2 ). Pay for performance does notnecessarily attract the best teachers. Sci. Atlantahas a school system of predominantly poor students, and emphasis is placedon measurable skills and improving reading and test scores. This does not mean merely teachers who canteach children the facts they need to score high on tests. If theteacher is not able to get the students performing as required, then theteacher must go. Some critics believe that teaching basic math skills does notencourage students to think conceptually, and without a knowledge ofconcepts, they will not be able to solve complex problems. Chaddock, G. Simply paying teachers more isnot the answer: selecting quality teachers is. The staff may be replaced if improvements do not result. Instead of teachersbeing able to choose whatever classes they want to take, now in order totake a class, there must be an identified need. It haspromoted an experimental K-6 math curriculum, Mathland, which has notextbooks for students. Students at the John Hansonschool have also been offered prizes to encourage them to put in moreeffort in preparing for the test. 1. It callsfor: intensive summer programs or a different curriculum for the same gradefor students lacking in basic reading, writing and math skills, rather thansocial promotion; higher standards for those training to become educators;allowing school boards to privatize schools if the public school cannot beimproved as is; and steer clear of simply throwing more money at schools inan attempt to improve them. According to GovernorRoy Barnes' education reform bill, elementary and middle-school studentswill also be tested on a measurement known as a criterion-referencedcompetency test (CRCT) for language arts, math and reading. Students are also constantly reminded of the meaningsof the words "analyze," "clarify" and "explain," as well as severalliterary terms so that they can correctly answer the questions on theMSPAP. The Iowa Test of Basic Skills (ITBS) is a test used to compare astudent's performance against a national norm (Carter, 2 ). Los Angeles Times, p. School districts expect better state testscores. A recent RAND study setout what works to improve test scores: smaller class sizes, expandingkindergarten programs, making teachers more accountable, and giving themthe resources they need (Chaddock, 2 ). Students improve reading scores amidsour note. 16A. The way to ensure competent teachers is careful prescreening andaccountability once a teacher is hired. A.=s math program just doesn=t addup. In Atlanta, grades first through 8th prepare for the ITBS during theschool day and in special after-school and Saturday programs. County students raise scores on math test.Atlanta J. Data have shown that students in California takingcourses like those promoted by LASI score lower than their counterpartstaking traditional math curses. 2 Georgia legislature improving Georgia=s public schools. Teacher incentives have been tried elsewhere and failed - England,Canada, and several U. Groves, M. The MSPAP tests more than just memory, as students arerequired to write answers, draw maps, and work in groups. By learning to write themselves, teacherswere able to explore ways to motivate their students to take an interest inwhat and how they write. Research datahas shown that teacher certification and master's degrees don't have muchbearing on student achievement, but a teacher's basic knowledge andintelligence does, and whether teachers feel that they have the resourcesthey need to do their job (Chaddock, 2 ). A16. (1998, July). P. However, test scores still remainthe key factor, and the problems surrounding the Stanford 9 need to beresolved if it is to become the norm (Groves, 1999). R. A massive effort aimed atliteracy, from kindergarten through high school had taken hold, affectingthe ways that teachers are teaching while providing clearer, more directways for parents to help improve student achievement through their supportat home (Payzant, 2 ). D1. Loupe, D. A breakthrough for our schools.Boston Globe, p. The test results are critical sincethey are used to decide which schools receive cash bonuses and which aretaken over by the state. While it is believed that good teacherswill continue to use standards given by the CRCT, they will gear theirteaching to test materials. The focus on staff development has also changed. However, the governor insists that tests arenecessary to compare students to national performance, since there iscurrently no national test (Cumming, 1999). He believes performance-based pay schemes have a history offailure in education because professional education is the key to asuccessful education system, and teachers should be paid for theirknowledge, and for passing it on to students, paid with respect, and notjust to attain the best test scores. Many studentsfled the classrooms when faced with the test; others simply filled inanswers quickly and without thought just so they could get it over with;others left the room in tears. Widespread use of calculators by students has suppressed knowledgeof basic math, which has closed the doors for them to more advancedmathematics courses. (1999, February). It is usedby the Atlanta Public School system test system for third, fifth and 8thgrades as mandated by the Department of Education. A21. In Los Angeles, which has a high immigrantpopulation, students were required to take the test in English even thoughmany were not fluent in the language. In multiple choice tests it is far too easy to jump on thefirst answer that looks reasonable. There seems no doubt that goodteachers are at the basis of good education and improving test scores. For example, second graders are expected tolearn the multiplication table for numbers 2, 5 and 1 , and third gradersare expected to know their multiplication tables all the way up to thenumber 1 . Mon., p. If students do not understand the correctmeaning of words, they cannot answer test questions effectively, even ifthey only require a true-false answer. Though teachers admit that when the test nears, they do gear teachingto the test, they insist that the whole curriculum is still covered. Atlanta Const. Competent teachers motivate students to learn; they create an atmospherewhich the students find comfortable and enjoyable. This may be of importance on some test scores where writtenanswers scored subjectively are concerned. Putting it in writing: a new emphasis;teachers study, practice methods of helping students develop powers ofexpression. Eligible schools with low testscores for 1998 and 1999 may apply for funds to help identify and implementchanges intended to boost performance. Good teachers do make adifference. Getting back to basics: first lesson:unlearn how we learned. They learn becausethey want to learn, not just for a particular test, but for life, and forthe sheer joy of learning. Reading scores on NAEP dropped dramatically in 1994 forunexplained reasons. Kronholz, J. Unlike the traditional multiple choice test format, the MSPAP asksopen-ended questions that can be judged subjectively by a scorer. Mon., p. Barnes next big test. Scores have been improved by a countrywide emphasison improving reading and writing skills. Highschool students will take a state test when they complete classes in coresubjects such as languages, arts and mathematics. Christ. Haney, W., & Russell, M. A packagedesigned to achieve the governor=s goal of improving education will takecenter stage in the General Assembly. To do well on a test, a student needs not only the basic knowledgethe test is assessing, but also the tools with which to know how tointerpret and answer the questions being asked. In California, results of the Stanford 9 showed improvements instudent test scores again in 1999, though some point out that when newsystems are introduced, scores often increase for the first few years asteachers and students become familiar with the test system (Groves, 1999).There was much furor when the Stanford 9 was first used. Itshould also help improve test scores because students are more able tounderstand the questions and formulate answers which require more than justa check mark in a box. However, with the push to improve test scores, computer-literate students are often at a disadvantage when taking tests whichrequire students to write answers or explain their work in longhand. This is veryimportant, as without an adequate vocabulary, which many students lacktoday, questions on tests may easily be misinterpreted. P. (1999, May). The commission charged with improving educationin Georgia must be willing to take risks and try creative alternatives ifthe changes are to have any significant, lasting impact. Cumming, D. Itrequires students to draw maps, write essays and work with groups onscience experiments.
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